Show Us Your Wood Shed

[ChasesAces]

4x6x10 pallet bin on landscape timbers. Holds a hair under 2 cords. Just going to tarp it for now.

 

[m37charlie]

What’s people’s opinions regarding thrown wood piles vs neatly stacked?
I do the ground contact layer as pieces of spruce at about 30 degrees angle from vertical to minimize ground contact area as a percentage of total surface area.
Otherwise, I figure thrown piles allow better air circulation.

 

[bigealta]

That's a big fat pile.
I'm a single width stacker here in NJ close to the humid coast. With mostly red oak i need all the help i can get to season it with Max air flow.
If i piled it like yours, the middle would stay soaked and rot.

 

[m37charlie]

If i piled it like yours, the middle would stay soaked and rot.

I don’t think so. When I refllled the deck last spring, the wood I pulled out of the middle of the pile was perfectly dry.
It’s pretty well established that a thrown pile dries better than a neat multi row pile. Although I pile it neatly once on the deck especially for space reasons. On the deck 2 of the 3 rows have expanded metal grating underneath. Over 3 out of 9 cords are sheltered from precipitation. And the average dwell time on the deck is about a year or a bit more. Before getting moved to an arctic entry that holds a cord and is well ventilated.
In my experience, the main source of rotten wood is people cutting rounds and leaving them unsplit.

 

[GG Woody]

I don’t think so. When I refllled the deck last spring, the wood I pulled out of the middle of the pile was perfectly dry.
It’s pretty well established that a thrown pile dries better than a neat multi row pile. Although I pile it neatly once on the deck especially for space reasons. On the deck 2 of the 3 rows have expanded metal grating underneath. Over 3 out of 9 cords are sheltered from precipitation. And the average dwell time on the deck is about a year or a bit more. Before getting moved to an arctic entry that holds a cord and is well ventilated.
In my experience, the main source of rotten wood is people cutting rounds and leaving them unsplit.

I guess I would need to see that evidence...
I can see through a stacked row, that leads me to believe that air could travel through the row and take moist air away from the stack.
I can't see through a thrown pile on the ground, I can't really imagine how easy it would be for the air to draw moisture away without the moisture sticking to the pieces all around it? I'm sure climate has a lot to do with probabilities as well.

I do know that my shower towel dries out well when I hang it up. I also know that my kids shower towels don't dry as well as mine when they throw them on their bedroom floors. 🤔

 

[m37charlie]

Once in a while I watch Youtubes „in the woodyard” or something like that. The guy in Wisconsin that cuts and sells 100s of cords/year. He has lots of cats wandering through the woodpiles which I like.
Anyways one of his videos specifically addressed the thrown vs neatly stacked issue, and claimed that for a given amount of wood thrown dries better.
I don’t have pallets on the ground but I lean spruce at about 30 degrees for the base layer which minimizes ground contact per piece.

 

[bigealta]

Splits on the ground here in NJ rot even in single stacks. Ground contact means rotten bottom row.
That's just how it is here.
Maybe it's different in Alaska or Wisconsin but not here on my soil.

I Don't elevate my stacks on concrete blocks with 2x4 rails just for fun.

And yes i've seen that youtube. He says it works for him. I'm 1,000 miles from Wisconsin.

 

[Nordicbynature]

What’s people’s opinions regarding thrown wood piles vs neatly stacked?
I do the ground contact layer as pieces of spruce at about 30 degrees angle from vertical to minimize ground contact area as a percentage of total surface area.
Otherwise, I figure thrown piles allow better air circulation.

My humble opinion and my experience:
A thrown pile can dry within one summer, depending on the type if wood. (not hardwood though)

A loosely stacked pile perpendicular to the main wind direction with only one row or space between rows will dry quicker than a thrown pile.

For storage of dry wood a tightly stacked pile is preferred.

In Sweden the normal work flow is: split and through a pile in spring. After summer stack it tightly where it will be stored.

To make a loose drying stack and later a tight storage stack would be considered the best, but unnecessary and too much work.

In Sweden wood is almost always sold as thrown dimensions. Almost never stacked dimensions.

Picture of a loosely stacked drying stack.

 

[bigealta]

My humble opinion and my experience:
A thrown pile can dry within one summer, depending on the type if wood. (not hardwood though)

A loosely stacked pile perpendicular to the main wind direction with only one row or space between rows will dry quicker than a thrown pile.

For storage of dry wood a tightly stacked pile is preferred.

In Sweden the normal work flow is: split and through a pile in spring. After summer stack it tightly where it will be stored.

To make a loose drying stack and later a tight storage stack would be considered the best, but unnecessary and too much work.

In Sweden wood is almost always sold as thrown dimensions. Almost never stacked dimensions.

Picture of a loosely stacked drying stack.

View attachment 342071

I would consider that fairly Tight stacks.
We are mostly Red Oak in a humid climate with decent winds.
For us That means Single stacks with distance between them.

 

[Nordicbynature]

I would consider that fairly Tight stacks.
We are mostly Red Oak in a humid climate with decent winds.
For us That means Single stacks with distance between them.

I agree they might be considered tight between the rows. But if you zoom in an look at each row, how much space there is in between the loggs.

 

[m37charlie]

Here also 1 summer/12 calendar months appears to dry wood virtually to its asymptote.
FYI splits of wood both birch and spruce that were alive in healthy trees on October 2 were asymptotically dry by November 9, when brought into my living room to dey as an experiment.
Asymptotically dry means no further weight loss is observed between measurements.

 

[bigealta]

Here also 1 summer/12 calendar months appears to dry wood virtually to its asymptote.
FYI splits of wood both birch and spruce that were alive in healthy trees on October 2 were asymptotically dry by November 9, when brought into my living room to dey as an experiment.
Asymptotically dry means no further weight loss is observed between measurements.

Yup just goes to show how different wood species and different environments make "Seasoning Times" so different.

 

[bigealta]

Here also 1 summer/12 calendar months appears to dry wood virtually to its asymptote.
FYI splits of wood both birch and spruce that were alive in healthy trees on October 2 were asymptotically dry by November 9, when brought into my living room to dey as an experiment.
Asymptotically dry means no further weight loss is observed between measurements.

And those splits look pretty/very small compared to what we do here, so that helps you for sure.
It's hard to see past the ends that are "speed dry" stacked. Is the inside stacked like that the whole way?
I would love to "speed dry" stack all my wood but just don't have the room.

And i love the term 'Asymptotically dry" i had to look it up to see it's physics and engineering lingo. And tough to pronounce!

 

[fao1989]

Nothin square or plumb about this. But a trapezoid shape seems to work.

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

Nothin square or plumb about this. But a trapezoid shape seems to work.

I like it! simple and effective!

 

[bigealta]

Nothin square or plumb about this. But a trapezoid shape seems to work.

If u have those rafters tied together then u should be good. If not those walls will probably be pushed over by the stacks as they settle. The 2x4's in the blocks are prone to rolling the blocks with the 2x4s levering them over with the pressure of the stacks.
Ask me how i know!

The Left block looks like it's already starting to roll. Just add some collar ties or blocking to fasten the right and left side rafters together.

 

[fao1989]

Thought about the eventual outward push by the wood settling. I loaded the wood first. Let it sit for a few weeks before attaching what you are charitably calling "rafters" Lol.
I've got the 'rafters' connected to the center post, but good idea on the collar ties.

I think the blocks are pretty stable. No rolling detected. Enough weight downward to counteract the inward push at the base of the 2x4s. Although it is an interesting question: How far out on the wings could you theoretically go before the lateral forces overcome the downward force. I'm sure there is an engineer out there who could supply a formula, but I'm using eyeball math. If it rolls, I'll post the result. Lol.

 

[bigealta]

I think the blocks are pretty stable. No rolling detected. Enough weight downward to counteract the inward push at the base of the 2x4s. Although it is an interesting question: How far out on the wings could you theoretically go before the lateral forces overcome the downward force. I'm sure there is an engineer out there who could supply a formula, but I'm using eyeball math. If it rolls, I'll post the result. Lol.

I used to think that as well. The 2X4's on top of the blocks don't put nearly enough pressure on the blocks to stop them from rolling. What happens is the walls creep further and further slowly over time. The problem is you can't push them back without taking all the wood off them.